chapter twelve: the Gwen to your Peter

FRIDAY: October 25th, 2026,
Gwen's house aka the new Halloween bash location

5:05 PM

"Okay we have to make sure everything is perfect! There's no way I'm having people in my house when it's not even set up properly. The keg goes down stairs and Vivian is setting up the snack bar with the help of Benjamin. Claire's working on the decorations and Alix is running to the store for her costume".

Alex looked over at the girl "what about him?" she looked at her porch "he's protecting us duh! Mr.Becker you can come inside, also what's your costume supposed to be exactly?".

The man walked inside and chuckled "you kids wouldn't get it". Gwen looked at the costume closely "I don't think I even recognize it, are you like a homeless person or something?".

The man chuckled as he pushed his gun behind his back. Kieran walked into the room holding onto a pile of chips. "Hey, I love the Anakin Skywalker costume Mr.B!" Gwen looked at Alex as the boy shrugged.

"Gosh you kids gotta watch more movies or it'll drive me insane. You don't know Star Wars, everyone knows Star Wars!". Gwen chuckled "please like I'd waste my time watching a lame space movie".

Corey huffed "at least your friend Kieran knows his stuff, do you at least recognize his costume?". Gwen looked at Kieran who was putting chips onto a table "uh I'm gonna assume something from Star Trek?" Corey smacked himself "Han Solo, he's Han Solo. You were so close but so far kid. Look I gotta go take my kids trick or treating or they'll murder me. I'll be back in two hours tops! Party should start then anyways, don't get yourself killed. And for god's sake, lock your doors!".

He walked off and pulled the door shut behind him, Gwen chuckled softly as she looked at Alex "that guy is so bossy, besides I'm sure we'll be fine. Before we know it this place is gonna be full of drunk teenagers, alright I gotta go get my costume on. Keep setting up those party streamers!". She walked off towards her stairs while Alex looked at the door.

"Lock your doors!" he ignored the thought entirely as he turned toward the wall in front of him. He carefully placed the party streamers along the wall before he made his way into the kitchen. Claire sat on top of the counter as she ate a pile of strawberries she stole from Gwen's refrigerator.

"Aren't you supposed to be setting up the snack bowls?" Claire looked up at Alexander with a grin "I got hungry. Besides, she keeps her refrigerator stocked, so of course I went into it".

The boy sighed deeply as he leaned into the counter beside the girl "you really think this will all die down eventually? I honestly thought the killer was Angel. Now I'm not so sure anymore".

Claire pushed a strawberry into the boy's mouth "you talk too much, tonight's about having fun and pretending absolutely nothing is wrong". She jumped off the counter as she looked at him "you know what you need?" the boy frowned as she smirked.

"To get laid! Come on, you're so damn paranoid. We all know you and Gwen totally have a thing for each other, it's been obvious for months". The boy chuckled awkwardly "I don't know, I don't really think she's into me. I'm way out of her league".

"Alexander, you're literally both wearing a couples costume tonight. Get your head out of your ass! You're literally so blind to what's right in front of you, and I really hope Benjamin didn't hear me say that phrase. But that's beside the point, get your ass up those stairs and tell her how you feel!".

She pushed him out of the kitchen and he walked up the stairs. He nearly bumped into Benjamin as the boy walked down the steps "sorry Alex, this place is huge and I literally can't find the bathroom".

Alex looked down at the boy "it's down the stairs, should be on the left side of the hallway. First door that you can find, just call if you need help!".

He heard the muffled shout of Benjamin saying thanks before he walked towards Gwen's bedroom door. He went to knock but the door had already opened, Gwen smiled as she did a little twirl "so what do you think? Angel made it for me before she... died".

She cleared her throat as she pushed the dress flat "now you can put yours on, I left it on the bed for you and then we can match perfectly". Alex walked into the room after the girl as she sat down at her vanity "I bought these like really long hair extensions and they're gonna take forever to clip in. If I'm gonna be Rapunzel it's gonna be absolutely perfect".

Alex sat down on the bed "so what exactly are we?" Gwen looked at him through her mirror "what do you mean? We're Rapunzel and Flynn". The boy smacked himself slightly "no.. I don't mean it like that. Like are we a couple? Or friends?".

The girl was silent as she turned to face the boy "well what do you want to be?" he looked up at her "your boyfriend. Even if I'm awkward and terrible". She chuckled softly "you're not any of those things, you should put your costume on. I can hear people arriving". The boy stood up "wait you can?".

She pointed at her window "no unfortunately, I just see the cars pulling into the driveway. Which means we need to be ready in thirty minutes flat!".

—

9:00PM

The entire house was full of loud teenagers who kept cheering every time someone would use the keg. For the most part nothing drastic had happened and the party was a success, at least until the music kept glitching every ten minutes.

Gwen groaned in annoyance as she smacked the speakers "where's Andy when you need him?". Alex stood beside her holding onto a red solo cup that was likely full of soda but he acted like it was alcohol.

"Just leave it, everyone's too drunk to care anyways" the girl moved away from the speakers "where the hell is everyone at? I thought we all agreed to stay in this room and the kitchen". Alex looked around and he only saw Kieran, the boy sat alone on the couch as he sipped at whatever drink he grabbed.

No one else was around which meant they likely wandered off "nothings gonna happen tonight anyways, of course they're gonna wander off". Gwen sighed "gosh I need to take these extensions out they keep getting stepped on, come on.. you're helping me". She grabbed his hand and dragged him up the stairs toward her bedroom.

As he walked inside he spotted Benjamin walking down the hallway towards one of the rooms. He didn't have time to question it before Gwen pulled him into her room and pushed the door shut with her foot.

Her lips were on his before he could even have enough time to process what was happening. When he finally realized what was happening he relaxed as he grabbed a hold of her face and kissed her back.

Benjamin hated big houses, he kept running into walls and walking into the wrong room as he slowly walked along the long hallway. "Psst... over here" the whisper was quiet but Benjamin heard it easily as he smiled softly and turned the corner.

"You choose the worst place to hide" Andy looked up at the boy as he looked around before helping him walk into the small office. He closed the door "this was the only window that was unlocked, I locked it just in case anyone gets the same idea as me".

Benjamin chuckled softly "where are we exactly?" Andy led the boy towards a small couch "I think it's some type of office, I doubt anyone will bother us here anyways. I got those files you were telling me about, and I think I can figure out who the killer is".

Benjamin sat down as he felt Andy pushed the files into his hand. He ran his hands over them "how many did you take!" He went quiet when he heard passing footsteps outside the room. Andy chuckled weakly "sort of all of them, it felt necessary since we have no idea what we're even looking for".

Gwen laughed softly as she pulled the wig off of Alex's head "gosh this thing is cursed". The boy held onto her as they laid on her bed "it's pretty comfortable, keeps my head warm". Gwen shrugged as she threw it onto the ground "I'll buy you a better one for actual Halloween. Just don't lose it".

Unknown to the couple beneath the girls bed the figure slowly emerged as they pulled the mask down to cover their face.

Andy looked at the table with a stern expression "it's not making sense. Why would the killer stab Nadia to death and then put poison into her system?". Benjamin leaned back on the couch "wait the play! Remember her character dies from being poisoned! Vivian loses her voice... Holy shit! It's a pattern!".

The boy grabbed the photo off the table "which one's the autopsy report?" Andy grabbed one "wait I get what you're saying. Angel's hands were cut off when the police found her body at the cabin. The cause of death for both her and Nadia was a simple stab to the heart. So why are they doing all these extra schemes? It doesn't make any sense".

"It makes perfect sense Andy, it means these dumbasses already screwed up big time!" Andy frowned "but how? I don't understand".

Benjamin chuckled "because the only people who know about the script is the drama club. So it's obvious that it's one of us, the numbers are lower so it's easier to pinpoint which two of us it is".

The boy leaned back "wait, Angel's character doesn't get her hands cut off" Andy frowned "she doesn't? Did Claire end up changing the script again?". Benjamin sighed "yeah in the final script Angel survives, which means the killers are following the first draft. Gosh that version is awful".

Andy's thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang noise "what was that?". Benjamin pushed his sunglasses downward "probably the party downstairs, last I knew Kieran was gloating on the couch. Claire mentioned it before her and the girls went out back to raid the pool. Apparently swimming is more fun than a party, I would've gone but I can't leave you here".

Andy smiled "Kieran's probably out there now, the party sounds like it's getting pretty intense". Benjamin laughed "maybe we'll sneak down there? You brought a mask right?". Benjamin pushed all the files together "yeah I did, all I found was a creepy looking clown one but it's better than nothing".

Benjamin cringed "clowns creep me out, so I'm glad I can't see how scary it looks. Alright let's get out of here, make sure the girls are alright".

Gwen held onto Alex as the boy kissed her, when she opened her eyes they widened at the sight of ghostface. She rolled over so fast and screamed when the knife slammed down into her pillow case. Alex pushed the girl behind him as they stood up quickly "stay the fuck back! You hear me asshole!".

Gwen moved back slowly "they're blocking the door, this is just great!" she grabbed her chair from in front of her vanity and threw it at the figure. They dodged it and ran straight for them, Alex ran forward and tackled them onto the ground.

Gwen pushed open her window "come on! We can go out the window!" She climbed out and Alex screamed when the knife stabbed into his stomach. Gwen gasped as she turned "Alex!" She pushed her head through the window and screamed when the figure grabbed a hold of her. She punched them and yelled when she started to fall down the roof slightly.

She screamed when she felt someone grab a hold of her ankles "Alex! They're trying to pull me down" she kicked her feet like crazy as she screamed.

She gasped when she felt someone grab a hold of her hand. Alex groaned as he held onto her hand tightly "climb! Gwen climb!" The girl saw the figure behind Alex before he could and she let out a soft cry.

"You can survive this..." the boy's eyes widened when she let go of his hand. He screamed out as he watched her fall down the roof and landed straight into the figure below her. She screamed and then the knife slammed straight into her throat as she gasped.

"Gwen!" Alex cried out as he pushed himself out the window and quickly jumped off the roof to tackle the figure. Alex punched the figure with all his strength and let out a breath of relief when they fall towards the ground unconscious.

Gwen laid on the ground crying as she pressed her hands against her throat, Alex ran straight towards her and grabbed a hold of her. "Hey it's gonna be alright, just stay with me. I need you to stay with me".

The girl cried as she coughed up blood, her hands held onto Alex's desperately as she smiled softly. "Stop them... p.. promise me you'll stop them". The boy cried as he pushed his face against her forehead "you're gonna be okay, we can stop them together".

She let out a weak breath before her body grew still, Alex cried and then everything turned dark when he was smacked against the back of his head. He fell towards the ground and the figure looked down at him angrily as they wiped the blood off their knife.

—
authors notes:
and just like that we've finished act two! I literally wrote this so fast. I have to sleep now oof, I don't sleep till 6AM, but I'm a working woman now so I guess I'll sleep earlier than normal. Bummer! I wanted to start act three but oh well I'll start writing in the morning before I work and then after work. I live and breathe this book 24/7.

TO ENSURE YOU'VE READ THIS
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we've hit the final act you guys! Which means it's time for the annual who dun it! Put in your final guesses on who you think are the killers. Yes there's two! Also for ocs who died you can still comment your final guess but just as yourself! I know you're all so eager to see who the killers are! Only 6 chapters left before this beauty of a book is complete.